As Good as Candy
by YoureverydayMia
Summary: He was the boy who gave her his kindness, his smile, his attention and his candy. Now she craves him...but what can be sweet can come with a price. Old Story, first few chapters were written by Nintendogal55 and BrokenRose24 aka Me edited by Scott Switaj


**As Good As Candy**

**(A BrokenNintendo/BrokenRose24 work; edited by Scott Switaj)**

_**Chapter One**_

_Late at night I keep thinking of you while crying on my bed,_

_Wondering about the sweet boy with the odd shaped head_

_They boy who showed me kindness, compassion, and understanding_

_He was unlike the rest of the kids who were cruel, uncaring, demanding_

_I wish I found you once again, I could only hold onto my love for so long_

_I have no home here but with you, I know, you are somewhere I belong_

Finishing her latest poem, Helga sighed as she grabbed her pink notebook and bag – she couldn't help but feel as if she was forgetting something, but as she looked around her room she didn't see anything and couldn't think of what it might be. She grabbed her keys and began to head out of the house, but before she could reach the front door it came to her.

"Shit – my pink ribbon!"

Racing back upstairs to her room, she found the light colored ribbon and quickly tied it back into her hair before headed back downstairs.

"Miriam," Helga called out, little emotion in her voice, "I'm leaving now." She didn't wait for a reply, since her mother would be sleeping on the couch, drunk yet again.

Today was yet another company party for her family to attend to for her father, and Helga had grown to hate those parties, glad to be avoiding this one. Of course, they always did remind her of the boy she fell in love with, back when she was only four…

"Helga sweetie, I need you to sit right here while Mommy talks to some of the adults, okay? I'll be back with some food in a minute sweetie," Miriam said, briefly pausing to pat Helga on the head before walking away into the crowd. Too young to understand the concept of minutes and hours, Helga sat quietly, waiting for her mother to return. After awhile, she began to stare at her shoes and then started to tap them together. They were pink shoes, just like everything else she was wearing – her mother had made her wear them along with a pink dress and a pink bow in her hair. Today was her dad's company's annual party, and with "Big Bob" being the big businessman that he was, it was important for everyone to look nice and everything to go right.

She sat there for an hour, watching the adults chatter and joke amongst themselves, a few times even looking over at her. She kept waiting for her mom to come back with food, slowly drifting closer to sleep as she grew hungrier. Finally, she just couldn't wait anymore. She hadn't eaten yet today, her parents having been too preoccupied with the party, so she decided to go and find her mom herself and get food. She carefully slid herself off of the chair and onto the floor and quickly stood up before a lady walking by her was able to step on her hand.

The adults easily towered over her as Helga wandered around looking for her mom. Fear began to build as she kept searching; she just couldn't find her mother in a place full of strangers. She was almost knocked over by a man rushing through the room, not paying any attention to her. Startled and scared, she ducked down and hid under the table. She sat in a ball, holding onto her knees as her emotions caught up with her. She was lost, she was scared, and she was hungry…and soon, she was crying.

A young boy, about eleven years old, with a lollipop and a chocolate bar was wandering aimlessly through and around the crowd. He too was looking for his mother who he lost sight of. He had a head of messy blonde hair, sticking upward and pointing out in all directions, a pair of bright green eyes, and a football-shaped head. He was cute, wearing a little suit for the occasion.

He couldn't find his mother, but as he walked around he heard soft crying and sniffling coming from under a nearby table. Peering underneath, he was shocked to see a little girl, no more than four, crying. Thoughts soon went flashing through mind: What was she doing down there? Why is she all alone? Where are her parents? Regardless of the answer to any of those questions, his heart went out to her and he quickly went on his knees to come down to her level.

"Hey little girl…what's wrong? Why are you down here all by yourself," he asked gently, offering his lollipop to her. He'd only licked it once, and it just might help calm her down. "What's the matter?"

Slowly Helga began to look up at the person talking to her, her sapphire eyes meeting his emerald ones. She slowly began to blush: he was the most beautiful boy she had ever met she decided, staring at him as tears still streamed down her cheeks and he smiled softly back at her with a lollipop held out for her. Her preschool teacher always told her never to take candy from a stranger, but he just seemed…nice, and sweet. Plus she was hungry. Opening up just a little bit more, she took the lollipop from him and placed it in her own mouth. One last tear fell to the floor, but she didn't notice as she stared back into his eyes.

The boy was touch by the sight and slowly took out his handkerchief, gently wiping at the remaining tears as she continued to look at him.

"There there – I'm not going to hurt you. Where are your parents little girl? I'll help you find them if you want me to help," he offered, smiling warmly at her. He couldn't help but think of how adorable she was. And those eyes…they were so pretty, though bloodshot and puffy, they were such beautiful blue eyes. He fought off the urge to hug her, she was so cute.

She nodded her head slowly as he stood up and she crawled out from under the table. He was smiling down at her, and she couldn't help but to smile back up at him.

"My mommy left me alone…I can't find her," she said softly as she wiped her arm across her eyes. She let out a sniffle as she looked back up at him.

'_He's the most beautiful boy I have ever seen,'_ she thought again as she admired him.

"Well don't worry, I'll help you find her," he said, wondering deep down why her mother, or any mother, would just leave her child alone like that. It just wasn't right. Now wasn't the time for such thoughts though, and so he shook his head clear of them and gently took the girl's free hand.

"Don't worry sweetie," he said again, "I'll keep you company until we find her, okay?"

"M'kay," Helga said, putting her fingers in her mouth, something she did out of habit whenever she was nervous. She looked around again, but she still didn't see her mother. At least she was with this nice boy…

He smiled at her sweetly, carefully making their way through the crowd, not once letting go of her hand. For some reason, holding her hand made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Of course, the reason for that must have been because he was helping such a sweet little girl.

They continued on through the crowd, some of the adults looking at them as if they assumed they were brother and sister. They still couldn't find her mom, and he was starting to get frustrated, especially at the fact that the girl's mom had left and didn't seem to be anywhere.

"Don't worry, we'll find her…" he said uncertainly, only realizing now that he didn't even know who he was looking for. "What does your mom look like?"

Helga pulled her hand away from her mouth and wiped it on her dress, slightly embarrassed that she had been doing that in front of him. She thought about his question.

"Well, she has yellow hair like mine," she started, before making circles with her hands and putting them up against her eyes. "And she has glasses too…" she added, before going silent. Her cheeks reddened in slight embarrassment, as she softly added, "…I don't know what her name is…I just call her Mom…"

He smiled in understanding and nodded.

"I understand sweetie. Don't worry about it, not many people your age know what their mother's name is, so it's okay."

He lightly patted her head in comfort, as he tried to think of something to say to help make her feel better. His eyes fell on her bow. Now that was cute – a little girl with a bow on her head. That could help cheer her up.

"By the way, I like your bow – it matches your dress."

She felt her race redden; she didn't know what to say or how to react. No one had ever said anything nice to her like that. Normally adults would say how cute a child was or how cute their outfit was, but that was never the case with her. For whatever reason, no one seemed to care. This was a new experience for her, and soon her heart quickened and the butterflies began to swarm in her stomach. All she could do was smile up at this beautiful stranger standing before her.

'_I should say something nice, maybe I like your…head…d'oh,' _she winced as she closed her eyes, _'That was stupid…um…" _She looked into his eyes and blurted out her thought.

"I like your eyes…they're green…like jelly beans."

The boy chuckled. He had to admit, as simple as the phrase was, it was still too cute, coming from a four year old.

"Thanks, that's really sweet of you to say. You have pretty eyes too you know," he complimented, kneeling back down to her level. "They're blue, just like the sky."

'_Not one, but two! He said two things about me!' _Helga swooned inside as she stared at the older boy. _'I don't know who you are but I want to marry you.'_

"Thank-you," she whispered, blushing as she stared down at the floor. She felt embarrassed by his compliments, but at the same time, she was loving every minute of it. She'd never had anyone pay this much attention to her.

"No problem," he said as he smiled warmly and gave her a hug, patting her on the back. He felt glad that she was feeling better, and she looked like she was cheering up and wasn't as scared anymore, exactly what he had been trying to do.

They both continued looking for her mother, but even after another hour they still couldn't find her. Helga's stomach growled and she blushed as she hoped that he hadn't heard it. Looking up at him, she found him looking down at her with a look on his face.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, fishing the chocolate bar out of his pocket as he offered it to her. "You can have it if you want; I'm not that hungry anyway."

She looked up at him frowning and uneasy, and he knew that she was worried about taking it away from him. He smiled – it was cute.

"Don't worry about me," he reassured her, "I'll be fine. Go on, you can have it."

Gingerly, Helga took the candy bar from him before giving him a hug. It was an odd hug; after all, he was so much taller than her. But she didn't care, caught up in the moment as her head rested on his stomach, her eyes closed as she took in his scent. She was happy.

He blushed a little and smiled, trying to return the hug and rubbed her back in comfort. It was strange, it was an awkward hug, yet hugging her felt right. Of course, there was nothing strange about hugging a young girl in circumstances such as this, but this still seemed somewhat…different.

He liked it.

"You're welcome sweetie," he said sweetly.

'_He likes to call me that a lot,' _she noted as she giggled, snuggling closer into him. Somewhere behind them, she heard some whispers behind them: "Aww, look at them" and "Ah, young love." Helga blushed again…love…was this love? Real love? She didn't know what the adults thought, but she did know one thing – she loved this feeling.

"Aww…she has a crush on him! That's so adorable!" noted a woman nearby.

The boy blushed overhearing the comment, but he still found himself smiling. It was pretty sweet, even if she was just a little girl. Besides, it happened a lot, little girls crushing on older boys. He stroked her hair as she snuggled closer into him, which he had to admit felt nice. He had never hated kids, but he found himself liking children a lot more now.

'_Perhaps,' _he thought as he smiled down at her, _'it wouldn't be a bad idea to babysit for her parents one day.'_

She looked up and smiled at him, an idea entering into her mind.

"Cam we sit under the table? Everyone is talking about us," she said, blushing as the conversations around them could still be heard.

He realized what she wanted and nodded.

"Sure sweetie," he said, leading her over to a nearby table, safely out of the sight of the adults as they crawled underneath. He then turned to her and smiled, "There we go; now we're hidden from the grownups."

"Thank you," she whispered, feeling very shy about her idea. But she had a feeling, deep down, that she had to do this or else: "Hey…I have something to tell you…"

"Mm? What is it?" he asked, looking at her and smiling.

She looked around quickly, a cute little action he thought, before she motioned for him to come closer. He obliged, shifting over as he looked at her with a curious smile, trying to figure out what it was exactly that she had to say.

She found what she wanted, she just knew it as she leaned forward into him. She may have been young but she knew what love was, even if she had never been shown it before. She had a family who really didn't take care of her, who didn't pay attention to her. It had gotten to the point where she would sit around and talk with her dolls and stuffed animals, wishing that they would talk back although they never did. She had grown up and matured faster than the other kids in her class. She didn't have a choice; she had to teach herself to survive…but she couldn't do anything about the loneliness.

She still felt conflicted about this; she didn't like the fact that she was tricking him but she still really wanted to feel something real. The boy could give her that; he made her heart quicken, he made her happy…he made her feel loved and beautiful. She wanted to feel the warmth inside whenever he smiled at her…she wanted him to bring her to life.

"I like you," she whispered into his ear, closing her eyes as she moved down a little bit. She felt his breath against her lips before she finally leaned into his, her very first kiss.

His lips felt soft, like petals from a rose…she could still smell his wonderful scent, wanting to envelope herself in it, wrap herself in it like a blanket…she wanted to have him with her forever. She didn't know how to kiss but she did the best she could from him, their lips pressed together as she moved her head like those couples on TV did. Subconsciously, her hands grasped his shirt tightly and held it securely in her fists.

For once, Helga felt at peace with the world.

The boy's eyes widened in pure shock as the girl kissed him right on the mouth, the last thing he would have thought a girl her age would do. His mind began to race, what was he doing, this is wrong, she's seven years younger than he was.

He couldn't kiss her, especially like this. It was wrong – so wrong!

This was his first kiss too…yet, granted, it wasn't unpleasant either…she didn't slobber and suck or lick like a kid her age would. Instead, she was…gentle, and sweet, like a woman kissing the man she loved ever so gently. She had to be influenced by TV with her kiss, and just decided to show her crush, which could be understandable.

'_But this is still wrong!' _a part of him screamed out. He couldn't kiss a little girl! He wasn't taking advantage of her or anything like that; after all she obviously wanted this since she started the kiss. She was just confused, that was it…

…or she knew what she was doing and thought that was how to act with someone you liked.

His thoughts continued to race, and a new one entered the fray: _'If it makes her happy…okay, I mean it's not like I'm an adult. I'll make her happy this once,' _he concluded, his eyelids lowering on their own as he kissed her gently and sweetly in kind, gently stroking her hair and bringing a hand to her shoulder.

'_Gosh, I can't believe I'm kissing a boy – an older boy!' _Helga swooned internally, tingling from her head down to her toes. She tried to deepen the kiss, not sure of what to do but letting herself go with it. A sudden thought came to her as she shifted nearer to him without the distance returning: _'He's not moving away!'_ She wanted to cry in joy and she leaned further still, all but falling into his lap. Everything felt so right…she belonged there, and with him.

It felt so wrong and yet, it felt so right…really right. For a moment he was shocked as she moved onto his lap, but he welcomed her closeness, holding her closer still, kissing her sweetly with a hint of passion behind the kiss.

'_She really likes this, doesn't she,' _he mused as everything continued. And despite whatever ill feelings he had harbored before, he had no problem fulfilling her wish now.

'_If she were my age…wow…' _he marveled for a moment, _'but it can't last…besides, by tomorrow she'll probably wish she were kissing Brad Pitt, or someone else…'_

She felt like melting as he drew her in closer to him, holding her tighter. She sighed inside.

'_Why couldn't we be the same age…would he like me?' _she thought, a low moan escaping from her. She shocked herself; why was she making noises…?

He caught the noise she made, and it struck his heart like a jolt of electricity. It was, by far, the sweetest noise he had ever heard before.

All logic was swept from his mind, all attempts to think clearly; all he could feel was her, and her lips…

'_If she were my age…I think I'd date her…'_

A soft moan of his own escaped him, and he brought both of his arms around her as he held her closer still.

She wanted to be closer still, as close as she could be, but how could she do that? She slid her arm around his neck, her hand brushing against something extremely soft. Slowly, she began to run her hand through his hair, surprised at its texture and just how soft it was to her touch. Deep down, Helga knew they would have to stop soon…but she simply didn't want to.

The need for air finally got to him, and rather reluctantly the boy pulled back, just enough so that their lips still touch as they tried to catch their breath.

Hushed and gentle, he slowly spoke, "S-sorry about that, sweetie," his words brushing against her lips.

"Don't be," she replied, lips brushing against his, her eyes still closed. She could feel his breath against her face, a gentle breeze, and she didn't mind it for a moment. She was in a state of bliss, and enjoying every moment of it.

He couldn't explain it, but he felt so…happy…or really happy, truthfully; Happier to have befriended a sweet little girl, and helping her out. He didn't know why, he couldn't place the reason, but he just did, and he didn't care to think about it further.

He gently kissed her again.

She kept her eyes shut firmly, and ignored the protests of her stomach. She still hadn't eaten yet, but at the moment she was hungry for something else – his love. He tasted of candy anyway; maybe he had some before they met, or maybe he was always like that, she didn't know but what she did know was that to her, he tasted so sweet.

To him, she tasted like the lollipop he had offered her earlier, and something else that he couldn't put his finger on. But all together, it was…nice. He held her face with one hand, the other coming around to the back of her head, cradling her like she was a precious piece of treasure…

A familiar voice called out for him, and the little girl quickly broke off the kiss. The voice had been close by, and it had probably startled her he was sure. He knew that voice: his mother. He hesitated now; he wanted to spend more time with this sweet little girl, but he knew he couldn't, at least not right now. He hugged her close one last time, and gave a soft peck on the lips as a way to apologize to her.

"We have to go now, sweetie. My mother's looking for me now too. Come on, you can wait with us until we find your mom."

She nodded, and as the two of them made it out from under the table she saw a woman, she had a head shaped the same way as the boys, so she must have been his-

"Hey! Where the heck are ya Olga?"

She turned around, and for the first time in hours finally saw her parents, unevenly making their way towards her.

"I waz…lookin'…everywhere for ya…Olga…" her mom slurred, getting down on her knees. She smelled of something, and it was a heavy smell too, and she looked rather sleepy. At least, that's what it seemed to Helga. She'd seen her mother look like that a lot really.

"You got a lot of nerve running away like that," her father scolded, and her head fell as she glance down at her shoes, her pink shoes she had to wear for his party.

The boy frowned at the comments from the girl's parents, before glancing over at his parents. They looked a little awkward, especially his mother…although, to be honest, he was a little miffed with his parents at the moment too, although he didn't quite understand why.

He looked back at the girl and his face softened into a small smile.

"I have to go now, sweetie. Be good, okay?"

Helga watched as he walked away. She went to call out his name…but she didn't know it! She never got to learn his name she realized in disappointment, as her father began to push her towards the stairs. She kept glancing over her shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the boy as he walked away, but soon he was lost in the crowd…

As he walked away with his mother, Arnold tried to look back at the sweet little girl, the one whose name he didn't know, the one he'd shared his first kiss with. But the crowd had filled the gap between them and he couldn't see her anymore. He still had no idea what her name was…just who was that girl…?

She knew it might have sounded stupid to some, but ever since she met that boy with the football shaped head she had never stopped wearing pink dresses or wearing a pink bow in her hair, even though many people gave her grief about it. Those who continued to push the subject, after all, ended up with an appointment with Ol' Betsy. She had grown up while her family had stayed the same: she became the rebel, the tomboy, wasn't afraid to boss and push others around…and yet, she was also a secret poet.

'_This sucks,' _Helga thought as she started the car, _'First day at college and working as a waitress too, which isn't going to help much. Stupid Bob for not helping me out but oh did he help Olga. God I hate my life,' _she realized as she sighed and pulled out from the curb. As she headed toward the college, she felt the wind blow through her blonde hair as a chill went down her spine.

'_Hmm…why do I have a bad feeling about today?'_


End file.
